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The former leader and one-time nemesis of Margaret Thatcher tells David Charter about a difficult relationship

Helmut Kohl believes that Baroness Thatcher’s fears of a united Germany
becoming the dominant power in Europe were misplaced.

“There was no danger of Germany becoming over-mighty then and there still is
not such a danger today. We Germans learned our lesson,” he said.

The former German Chancellor, 83, who towered over postwar Germany just as
Lady Thatcher bestrode the British political scene, pays a warm tribute to
Baroness Thatcher’s courage and honesty today despite admitting that they
were never able to form a trusting relationship because of their
dramatically conflicting views on Europe.

In an exclusive interview with The

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Question: Your professional relationship with Thatcher was always said to be difficult – is that fair?

Answer: Yes, that is a correct and fair assessment. But I would like to add that it is not so terrible if heads of governments do not have a warm relationship - on the contrary, it is perhaps rather the norm. But unlike with other leaders in Europe and the world, and despite the best efforts of both sides, Margaret Thatcher and I simply never managed to build a trusting and warm relationship.

Our relationship was special in its own way – special in the way that Margaret Thatcher was. One minute she could be friendly and in the next moment everything changed. With her there was always a mix of feelings. Nevertheless we always treated each other with respect. And her death has really affected me. It is true: Margaret Thatcher was difficult just as our relationship was difficult. But it is also true that Margaret Thatcher was an impressive personality, an admirable woman and a great Prime Minister of Great Britain. She acted with courage and determination to pursue her convictions and the interests of her country. I also never once found her to be dishonest. And honesty is a quality rarely also found in politics. For all that and for her love of freedom I always appreciated her. I will always honour the memory of Margaret Thatcher.

Question: In Europe, on one hand Thatcher is credited with driving important reforms in the Single Market Act of 1986 and on the other she became very Eurosceptic in later years. What did you think of Thatcher’s contribution to the European Project?

Answer: First of all, from Margaret Thatcher’s point of view what you are saying is not a contradiction. Margaret Thatcher always was in favour of Europe but just not in favour of giving up British sovereignty. Margaret Thatcher wanted Europe, but a different Europe from that wanted by most of her European colleagues and by me. From our point of view, this antagonism characterizes British policy on Europe to this day. And Margaret Thatcher’s most important contribution to Europe and the EU was that, in spite of all the antagonism and differences of opinion on individual issues, she was in favour of Europe.

Question: On Germany, Thatcher was opposed to the speed of German reunification. Did this cause a problem at the time and what did you think of her attitude towards a united Germany?

Answer: Indeed in 1989-90 Margaret Thatcher was opposed to the reunification and a difficult partner in the negotiations at the European level. But she was not generally opposed to reunification. Her opposition was driven by the concern that a reunited Germany would be "over mighty" in Europe.

Question: Was she right that an over-mighty Germany would be dangerous to the European Project because of a tendency to dominate?.

Answer: Definitely not. There was no danger of Germany becoming over mighty then and there still is not such a danger today. We Germans learnt our lesson.

Question: On the single currency, Thatcher felt misled into agreeing the early stages of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) because she thought that you would not agree to a single currency. Did you mislead her?

Answer: No, on the contrary. Very early on, in the middle of the 1980s, I supported a common European currency. I always talked about it and promoted the idea with my European partners and of course also with Margaret Thatcher.

Question: Are you able to attend the funeral next week?

Answer: Unfortunately I will not be able to manage the strain of travelling, even though my health has happily improved since my serious accident five years ago and continues to make progress. My high esteem and my respect for Margaret Thatcher remains absolutely clear. And so I bow from here with silent greetings and with deep respect to my colleague Margaret Thatcher, who died in London on Monday morning.